God's Weather ForecastThe Rainbow Speaks

Never is The "complete"
rainbow seen on earth.
This reminds us of the
words of Paul....

"Now we see in part, and we
prophecy in part, but when that
which is perfect is come, then
that which is in part shall be away."

Genesis 9:12-16

"And God said: 'I do set my rainbow in the cloud,
and it shall be for a token of a covenant between
me and the earth. And it shall come to pass when
I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be
seen in the cloud; And I will remember my covenant, which
is between me and you and every living creature of
all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to
destroy all flesh. And the rainbow shall be in the
cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember
the everlasting covenant between God and
every living creature of all flesh that is
upon the earth. And God said unto
Noah, This is the token of the
covenant, which I have
established between
me and all flesh
that is upon
the earth.":

God rainbow implies promises!!!
Promises and promises from Almighty God. Not promises from you and me who might actually break a promise. One of the many things that characterize God and man and set them apart is the fact that God is true and man is untrue. For God makes promises and God keeps his promises. While on the other hand, man makes promises and breaks his promises. True are the words found in Joshua, (21:45)

"You know in all your hearts and in your souls that not one thing which the Lord your God has promises has ever failed; all have been fulfilled, and not one promise has failed."

Do you know that there are three things that are essential for a rainbow. Yes, there are three things that have to be present for one to view the bow. 1. rain, 2. clouds, 3. sunshine. The three work in harmony with one another and compliment one another.

Inasmuch as clouds play such an important part in the rainbow's message it is important to inject at this point an echo from earlier writings where Job was quoted. "Can any understand the spreading of the clouds?" The answer is "yes" through Christian foresight and insight. With the cloud of fear that envelopes our life there is God's rainbow of comfort. He voices the declaration that I will never leave or forsake you" - consequently a promise.

With the cloud of doubt that might arise, there is the rainbow of hope; with the cloud of danger, there is the rainbow of safety. ALWAYS, at the proper time, God causes His bow to appear.

Now a question. Where is the cloud in relation to the rainbow? The rainbow surrounds the clouds. Underscore this with the blackest of emphasis- - the rainbow always encircles the clouds. This, I think is most significant. Also, THE CLOUDS ARE FORMED FROM THE EARTH, THE RAINBOW IS FORMED IN THE HEAVENS, which bends away from the earth. Did you pick up on the phrase, "bends away from the earth"? I think that it is a personal reminder for us to look UP from where comes our help and away from our situation.

I can vouch for the authenticity of this statement because I have witnessed it. From an airplane flying in the sky one can see the rainbow in its entirety. is something! From the earth none of us have seen a complete rainbow - have you? If this is true that the complete rainbow is seen from the sky, then again, the words of Paul written above are so good... "now we see in part..."

God's rainbow (and it is God's, not man's) is a token, it is a covenant to the fact that the earth shall never again be destroyed by a flood. Now, God has promised it and as your read earlier, "Not one of his promises has ever failed." However, it is more than that. It is in effect that which symbolizes the utter truth of God's word - thus making Him true to all He has promised. But, what has He promised? What is involved in Psalm 105 when we read,
"God remembered His promises."
What is He to remember? What does He want us to claim as His children through faith in His Son?

It is interesting to note that throughout the Scripture there is the word PROMISE that frequently appears. If we would then concern ourselves with that which was attached to the context, we would find just what God has promised. Let's examine the sentences in which is found the word "promise" Then, perhaps when we view a rainbow next time we can know in a fuller manner, the promise of our God.

God has promised us according to 1 Timothy 4:8 a

1. Present Life

"...holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."

This includes only the immediate second - which is now past. This is why the present life is so important, for there is a provision through Jesus of a future eternal life. Titus 1:2 reminds us:

"a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal
life which God, who dies not lie, promised before the
beginning of time..."

And 1 John 2:25:

"And this is what He promised us - even eternal life."

The present hour is important, for "now is the day of salvation" for the projected eternal life which God has promised us. The next time you see a rainbow I want you to recall that it is a promise, not just of an earth not being destroyed by a flood, but a promise of two lives. The "present" and the "future".

Still, there is a promise of a

2. Second Coming

of our Lord. This second coming (that is during the rapture) is to some the forerunner of the eternal life, and to others it is in effect the end of time. The Lord is going to come again whether one wants Him to come or not. For you see, He has promised it according to 2 Peter 3:1-4

"Dear Friends, this is now the second letter
to you. I have written both of them as reminders to
stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I
want you to recall the words spoken in the
past by the holy prophets and the command
given by our Lord and Savior through your
apostles.
First of all, you must understand that
in the last days, scoffers will
come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
They will say, 'Where is this 'coming' he promised?
Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as
it has since the beginning of creation.'"

Jesus said He would come again - - and He will!! Much space is given to the second coming in the Bible; certainly enough for us to believe it. The circumstances surrounding His coming and that which He will do when He appears is secondary to His coming. That HE IS COMING is the supreme fact and that is seen in the rainbow.

This coming refers to both "comings". The coming in the air for the saints and the coming of the Lord to the earth with the saints.

It is a promise. Now, according to some who have actually made the count there are 750 promises in some 250 classifications. And they are verified in the rainbow, for again, "Not one of his promises has failed." The second coming is among those. I suppose an appropriate question would be, "What if it were today?" His coming could well be. He has promised a return. when we least expect it – wow

"Blessed be the Lord that has given rest to his people...according to all that he promised; there has not failed ONE WORD of all his good promises, which he promised."
– (1Kings 8:56)

The rainbow speaks of another promise - that being

3. A Crown Of Life

which we are told about in the writings of James the brother of Jesus.

"Blessed is he who endures temptation for when he has stood
the test, he will gain the CROWN OF LIFE,
which is promised to all who love Him." (James 1:12)

As to what this "crown of life" means, no one can be dogmatic in saying. Perhaps it is to culminate in the future, perhaps it is a promise to the present time. We can't discount the fact that it could concern the profession of our faith. The truth might be embodied in the fact that the writer of Hebrews has left us, "Let us hold fast the profession of faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised." Also, it could be embodied in the Holy Spirit in our lives... "...having the promise of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:3)

Beside the wording in James, there are the words in 2 Timothy 4:8 - they read like this:

"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

This speaks of a different crown as does John in the Revelation. 21:10, and 3:11.

The fact remains that there is a promise from Almighty God to you, dear reader, of a promise of this crown of life". Someday we will understand, but now we see through a glass distorted.

3. New Heaven and a New Earth

2 Peter 3:13:

"But in keeping WITH HIS PROMISES
we are looking forward to a new heaven
and a new earth, the hope of
righteousness."

These words are echoed in the writings of Isaiah, (65:17 and 66:22-24) though in these verses the word promise is not stated. Wow. Think about it. A new heaven and a new earth. This does tend to blow one's mind away. The purpose will be realized forever when the natural people who do not rebel with Satan at the end of the Millennium will remain on the earth after its renovation by fire and multiply forever as God intended Adam and his race to do before the fall. There are so many questions that one poses when such is stated, so the best thing is just to leave all speculation to God and live in the present with such a promise. Because the full meaning of this is not fully known. It is beyond our comprehension. Praise the Lord.

I choose to name all the other blessings that have been promised (as we view the rainbow) under the heading:

Many Unnamed Blessings.

When we read, "The Lord God of your fathers bless you as he has promised you." we say, OK, God, thanks for your word. It is as it were the handing to us a blank check with the authorized signature. The authorized signature of a check from the Bank of God would be signed in red with the blood of Jesus. These checks will be honored in the time of need. Every promise is a "pay bearer on demand". What we need is faith to present it at God's throne. Unless we present/claim the check, the check remains useless.

These blessings as others mentioned are your promises, dear reader. Just as God made a special promise to Adam, Noah and Abraham, they all came to pass, so with you and yours. Just as God promised Hagar, Issac and Jacob, they too, were all kept. So in keeping with God's faithfulness we too receive such a promise. We read in 2 Cor. 1:20)

"For no matter how many promises God
has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And
so through him the 'Amen' is spoken
to us by the glory of God."

So you see, these are the promises given to us who believe and not one of them shall fail. Praise the Lord!

As the rainbow fades away, so we would speak

In Conclusion

that the word "rainbow" is not only found in the first book of the Bible, but most appropriately in the last book also. (Revelation 4:3; 10:1))

"And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper, and a sardine stone: and there was a RAINBOW round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald."

And John said,

"and I saw another mighty angel came down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a RAINBOW was upon His head and His face was as it were the sun..."

Yes, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" there is that which is likened to a pot of gold, namely Heaven with the streets of gold and the presence of Almighty God, the living God. The prophet Ezekiel once said (1:28)

"As the appearing of the rainbow that is
in the cloud in the day of rain
so was the appearance of the brightness
round about. This was the
appearance of the likeness
of the glory of God."

Reader, the rainbows speak of the many promises of God - and the greatest being a promise of salvation. For this promised to be claimed, one must see himself as a sinner, realizing that He Jesus is the way to a more complete life. By accepting Him, His ways, His standards, His salvation, we see the full meaning of the rainbow.

Because of His love - - HIS RAINBOW!!
"Having therefore these promises dearly
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness of the flesh, and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God."
2 Corinthians 7:1